A former employee at a pizza shop near Boulder High accused of sexually assaulting multiple underage girls has entered into a plea deal and will serve probation and jail time.
Ilir “Jack” Sokolaj, 23, pleaded guilty to a felony count of attempted sexual assault on a child and a misdemeanor count of third-degree assault.
As a condition of the plea, attorneys agreed that Sokolaj will serve sex offender intensive supervised probation on the felony count and jail time on the misdemeanor, according to Boulder County District Attorney’s Office spokeswoman Shannon Carbone.
Sokolaj could be facing six to 24 months in jail since prosecutors say the third-degree assault count is an extraordinary risk crime.
Prosecutors dismissed the original charges of sexual assault on a child and unlawful sexual contact in exchange for the plea.
“The victims are aware and in favor of this resolution,” Carbone said in a statement. “We want to recognize and acknowledge their courage in coming forward.”
Sokolaj remains out of custody on a $25,000 personal recognizance bond. He is set for sentencing on April 28.
According to police, Sokolaj “engaged in sexual acts” with underage girls during the summer of 2019 when Sokolaj was 19.
Sokolaj has worked at Brooklyn Pizza, located at 1647 Arapahoe Ave., on and off since 2018. The shop is across the street from Boulder High School, and police said Sokolaj had frequent contact with students.
According to an affidavit, at least one of the girls was a student at Boulder High. Two were 14 at the time and one was 15.
The three girls in the affidavit said they would get free pizza and sometimes marijuana from Sokolaj. One day in 2019, they went to his residence near the pizza place, and the girls said he groped one girl against her wishes and forced two to perform oral sex.
When talking to police, Sokolaj said the encounter was consensual and he thought the girls were old enough and that he was young enough that the encounter was legal. But police also noted he initially lied and said he was 18 at the time of the incident, when he was 19.
